Ask Dr. Paola – Breeding Ethics, Whining �...

Welcome to our “Ask Dr. Paola” sequence, the place each Monday we deliver professional recommendation straight from Dr. Paola Cuevas (MVZ) to assist our readers higher perceive their canine’s well being and well-being.

Whether or not you’re a brand new pet dad or mum or a seasoned canine lover, Dr. Paola is right here to offer solutions to your most urgent questions. From vitamin ideas and preventive care to troubleshooting frequent behavioral points, Dr. Paola is able to supply insights that may hold your furry pal joyful and wholesome. Keep tuned for professional steering on a variety of matters that matter most to you and your canine, so you may make knowledgeable choices and supply the absolute best care in your canine companion. ‎Have‎ a ‎question? Send it in here!

Can You Breed a Large Canine with a Small Canine?

“Can you could have a Belgian Shepherd with a Chihuahua?” – Riley

Hello Riley,

That could be a very reasonable query. A Belgian Shepherd and a Chihuahua can completely reside collectively, but it surely works finest when everybody understands their differences, very like a bicycle sharing the street with a truck. They’ll go in the identical path and just do advantageous, so long as velocity, house, and limits are revered. Calm introductions, supervision throughout play, and educating the bigger canine to maneuver gently are important as a result of even pleasant enthusiasm from an enormous physique can overwhelm a tiny one. Consider it as educating two canines to talk the identical language regardless of very totally different accents. Constructive reinforcement, protected relaxation areas for the smaller canine, and managed interactions assist construct belief and security.

Breeding a Belgian Shepherd with a Chihuahua, nevertheless, raises serious welfare concerns and isn’t thought-about accountable or moral. The acute dimension distinction creates important dangers for the feminine canine, notably if the Chihuahua is the dam, as being pregnant and whelping may very well be life-threatening. Even when the bigger canine is the dam, orthopedic, neurologic, and developmental points can come up in offspring as a result of mismatched skeletal and progress patterns. Accountable breeding prioritizes well being, predictability, and preservation of practical construction, not novelty. I hope this explains.

– Dr. Paola

Assist! My Canine Received’t Stp Whining!

“Pricey Dr. Paola,

How do I get Minnie to cease whining? She principally does it as a result of she’s afraid of our ceiling fan and generally doesn’t wish to enter the room when it’s on – however generally she does, so we simply depart it on. However, if she’s in a temper the place she doesn’t wish to enter, she simply stands on the door and whines, and will go on for hours, till we flip the fan off. It’s enjoyable.” – Lyle

Hi there Lyle.

Whining on this scenario is finest understood as Minnie speaking discomfort moderately than being cussed or dramatic. For some canines, a ceiling fan might be unsettling due to the mixture of motion, shadows, and low-level noise, just like how a flickering gentle might be mildly annoying to 1 particular person and deeply distressing to a different. When Minnie stands on the doorway and vocalizes, she is telling you that coming into the room feels unsafe to her in that second. Permitting her to whine for prolonged intervals with out addressing the underlying worry can unintentionally reinforce her anxiousness, even when she generally tolerates the fan on different events.

The simplest and humane strategy is gradual desensitization paired with constructive reinforcement training. As an alternative of ready for her to push by means of worry, begin with the fan off and reward calm, voluntary entry into the room, then progressively introduce the fan at its lowest setting for very quick intervals whereas pairing it with one thing she finds extremely rewarding. Over time, this teaches her nervous system that the fan predicts good issues moderately than threats. Forcing publicity by leaving the fan on till she provides up is just like asking somebody with a worry of elevators to face outdoors one indefinitely; it doesn’t construct confidence, it builds stress.

If the fan will not be important, turning it off when she is clearly distressed will not be giving in; it’s responding appropriately to a fear-based behavior. As progress is made, her confidence ought to enhance, and the whining ought to fade naturally. If the conduct persists or intensifies, please bear in mind we’re one click away to assist information a structured plan for you in an effort to assist Minnie really feel secure whereas studying to manage extra comfortably together with her atmosphere.

Finest,

– Dr. Paola

Assist! My Two Canine’s Have Utterly Completely different Reactions to Meals!

“Hey Dr. Paola,

We have now two canines – Tippy is a mutt, pardon the language, however a mixture of every kind, most likely a lab, some form of terrier, and perhaps one other couple in there, however so laborious to inform. He has a abdomen made from iron and eats issues he shouldn’t on a regular basis and by no means has a lot as a pungent fart.

Every thing works advantageous, and he’s joyful (we clearly discourage this conduct, but it surely’s nonetheless wild to see). Then, Tino, a purebred Labrador, will get an upset tummy simply by one thing that’s not for him. I exaggerate – he has no allergic reactions, but when he does occur to attempt to take pleasure in a useless rabbit on the farm like Tippy, he will get diarrhea. Questioning if there’s any correlation between mutts and purebreds on the subject of digestive points. ”  – Isla

Hello Isla,

What you might be observing with Tippy and Tino is one thing veterinarians hear typically, and it has a strong organic rationalization. Digestive tolerance is influenced by genetics, early weight loss plan, and the gut microbiome, which is the inhabitants of micro organism residing within the intestines. Canines with combined ancestry typically inherit a wider vary of digestive traits, and this genetic range can generally translate right into a extra adaptable gastrointestinal system, very like a well-traveled abdomen that has realized to deal with totally different cuisines. That doesn’t make them invincible, however it might make reactions much less dramatic when dietary indiscretions happen.

Purebred canines, together with Labradors, are selectively bred for particular traits, and that course of can unintentionally slim genetic range in methods unrelated to look or temperament, together with digestion. Labradors are properly documented in veterinary literature as tending to dietary sensitivity and food-related gastrointestinal indicators, even within the absence of true allergic reactions or illness. This doesn’t imply one thing is flawed with Tino; it merely displays how his intestine responds extra predictably and fewer flexibly to sudden adjustments, spoiled materials, or high-fat objects like carrion.

The essential takeaway is that neither canine needs to be allowed to check the boundaries of their digestive system, even when one seems to tolerate poor decisions higher than the opposite. A resilient intestine at present doesn’t assure safety from pancreatitis, obstruction, or an infection in a while. Managing each canines as if they’ve delicate digestion is the most secure long-term strategy.

Regards,

– Dr. Paola